Royal Icing That Won't Dry

Baking By DonnasDelites Updated 16 Jul 2013 , 10:30am by DonnasDelites

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DonnasDelites Posted 12 Jul 2013 , 11:38am
post #1 of 6

I made royal icing using the Wilton's recipe: 3 Tbs meringue powder, 6 Tbs water, 4 cups powdered sugar. I added a little more water during the whipping process because it was so thick. Should I have achieved the peaks before adding extra water for thinning? Does using warm water make a difference? Would adding more powdered sugar "fix" it? I hate to throw out the whole batch! The cookies I covered in RI did not dry at all even after sitting over night. It is very rainy and humid here right now, could that impact the royal icing results?  I've made royal icing before with perfect results. Can't figure out what went wrong this time!  Thanks in advance for your input :)

5 replies
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BatterUpCake Posted 12 Jul 2013 , 1:02pm
post #2 of 6

Just curious as to why you use meringue powder over egg whites? It is so much cheaper and easier with egg whites..... 

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Stitches Posted 12 Jul 2013 , 1:53pm
post #3 of 6

Agreed, I'd have used powdered egg whites instead of meringue powder. Technically meringue powder should be a completed product all on it's own.....you only need to add some water for it to work. I'm not familiar with that recipe specifically, but in general you can add more powdered sugar or water as needed to adjust the consistency of your royal icing. Go very slowly in adjusting....don't just dump in a whole cup of sugar.

 

Very rainy weather can effect your drying times. But it should dry over night.

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BatterUpCake Posted 12 Jul 2013 , 2:08pm
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I just use egg whites......some say to use pasteurized and some say it doesn't matter 

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CathyJohnson Posted 12 Jul 2013 , 3:38pm
post #5 of 6

Did you use a plastic bowl that you have used in the past to make buttercream?  You really need to avoid the royal icing coming into contact with anything that could potentially have any fat residue on it .... spatual, bowl, etc.
 

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DonnasDelites Posted 16 Jul 2013 , 10:30am
post #6 of 6

Thanks for all of your replies! I will certainly try using powdered egg whites in the future. I had been afraid to use fresh egg whites and thought meringue powder was a safe alternative. I was careful to use a "clean" glass bowl, beaters and metal spoon, so I don't think that was the issue. I did add 3 additional TBS of PS and tried it again on a sunny, less humid day and got better results. Thanks for your help :)

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